Track Listing

1. Blowin' in the Wind
2. Too Much of Nothing
3. Lemon Tree
4. Stewball
5. Early Mornin' Rain
6. 500 Miles
7. I Dig Rock and Roll Music
8. Leaving on a Jet Plane
9. Puff (The Magic Dragon)
10. For Lovin' Me
11. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
12. If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)
13. Day Is Done

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #264704 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-17
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Australian exclusive collection featuring 20 classics from both major domestic 'Best Of' compilations & a few unique to this one, including, 'Settle Down (Goin' Down That Highway)', 'San Francisco Bay Blues', 'Hush-A-Bye', 'A Soalin', 'Gone The Rainbow', 'Tell It On The Mountain' & 'Cruel War'. 1993.

Amazon.com essential recording
Warner Bros. did with the CD release of the 1970 vinyl LP 10 Years Together: Best of Peter, Paul & Mary what every label should do with CD reissues of vinyl compilations. They took into account the longer length of CDs and added tracks. The original release of 10 smash hits has been fleshed out here with three additional tracks, including a melodic take on Dylan's Basement Tapes rarity "Too Much of Nothing." Otherwise, it's hits and nothing but hits, ranging from definitive folk interpretations ("If I Had a Hammer") to pop ("I Dig Rock 'n' Roll Music") to Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot covers that compete with the originals and first brought such material to the mainstream. Only "Cruel War" is missing. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews

All the essentials from a great sixties folk-pop trio
This trio sometimes wrote their own songs, but most of the songs they are famous for are covers. Not just any covers - often they selected songs by people who were unknown at the time, but who became famous partly as a result of Peter Paul and Mary's hits.

So it was that they were among the first to record Bob Dylan's songs. Of those, Blowing in the wind, Too much of nothing and Don't think twice its all right are included here.

Gordon Lightfoot is represented by two songs - Early morning rain and For loving me, while John Denver was extremely grateful to Peter Paul and Mary for their recording of Leaving on a jet plane. It became their biggest hit and helped to get John's solo career going. Pete Seeger was already a legend by the time Peter Paul and Mary had a hit with his song If I had a hammer.

Stewball is a lovely song about a racehorse. British skiffle singer Lonnie Donegan also recorded a song with the same title and clearly about the same horse, but the lyrics are different. If there ever was a racehorse called Stewball, I'd like to learn more about her, although the story may be pure fiction.

Of the songs they wrote themselves, Puff the magic dragon is one of the finest children's songs ever written, while Day is done is a great, upbeat way to round off this collection.

True classics from an iconic 1960s group
Peter, Paul & Mary's "Ten Years Together" is an excellent introduction to the group for anyone who's not familiar with their work. It shows off their seamless, sumptuous harmonies, their willingness to step back and let the songs be the stars of the show, and the ease with which they move from ballads to more upbeat tunes.

Showcased here, of course, is Mary Travers' voice, an instrument of such crystalline purity that it has something of the angels in it. Paul and Peter back her up beautifully, content to let her be (usually) the main vocalist while they harmonize. Their choice of material is top-notch. They do Dylan's sad, weary "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and lend it a bittersweet quality that's missing from his own version. On John Denver's excellent "I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane," the trio captures the fear and hopefulness of the lyrics. "Too Much of Nothing" has a sassy, almost Mamas-and-the-Papas quality to it, and "Stewball"--an improbably wonderful tune about a racehorse--manages to convey genuine regret despite the oddness of its subject. "Lemon Tree" and "Puff the Magic Dragon" are but two others of the many wonderful songs on this CD.

Do yourself a favor and listen to how true, trained harmonies can elevate a song well beyond itself. Peter, Paul & Mary are the real thing--a necessary quality missing all too often from the so-called work of so many folk and pop singers today.

Simply outstanding!
I've always been a Bob Dylan fan through all these years for despite the raw and guttural quality of his voice, the melodic and, oh boy! lyrical brilliance of his songs are more than enough to fall back on. Combine Bob's melodic edge with Peter, Paul and Mary's fine songmanship and what have we got? A truly masterful product of the highest musical standard.

What's so good about this trio is their superior choice of materials coupled with the ability to give the materials the right treatment that they deserve, whether they are Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot or John Denver tunes. Their perfect harmony, delivery and guitar work are simply outstanding.

Peter, Paul and Mary may no longer be recording but a spent force they certainly are not. Their music has affected a generation of folk music fans and I'm sure their influence will continue to grow in the years to come.

Am I impressed with this album? No, I'm not. I'm stunned!